Bicycle Queensland welcomes bold new Transport Plan for Brisbane

Congestion-busting green bridges are a key focus of the final Transport Plan for Brisbane, being released today.

Bicycle
Queensland has commended the plan, which will build a bold new world of public
and active transport networks across Brisbane.

Bicycle
Queensland CEO, Anne Savage, said walking and cycling were key to cutting congestion
and improving travel times in South East Queensland.

“Brisbane’s
new Transport Plan is bold, brave, and brilliant in its vision,” she said.

“Importantly,
it recognises the need to harness public and active transport to shift towards
a healthy travel future that connects us quickly, conveniently, and for a price
we can all afford.

“This
is the first step away from a road network heavily congested with single-occupant
vehicles to make mobility great again.”

Council
received more than 3000 submissions during consultation for the plan, including
representation by Bicycle Queensland on a high-level External Reference Group
assembled by the Lord Mayor to help guide the plan’s development.

“Implementation
of this Plan, beginning immediately, will help to kick-start a healthy and
sustainable travel future, where all Queenslanders can go from A to B safely, seamlessly,
and without having to worry about traffic bottlenecks and peak-hour chaos,” Ms
Savage said.

“It
prices in the tremendous benefits of getting thousands more people cycling,
with every $1 spent on bikeways returning $5 in value to the community.

“This
plan also identifies opportunities for much greater collaboration across the
public, private, and community sectors, to deliver stronger solutions for
people who are fed up with the increasing costs of petrol and car parking.

“We
look forward to working together with Council to fast-track implementation of
key bikeway opportunities, including consultation with the community on a new
green bridge network.”

The
Transport Plan identifies 14 priorities, factoring in car-free days and
investment in greater bikeway connectivity across the city, to leverage uptake
of electric bikes and harness new technologies to get more people riding and
walking.